~ There are too many books to read and sleep is getting in the way!

Book Review: Chasing Mercy by Stacy Claflin

Book Synopsis:

Mercy #1
Published May 2013 by author
Paranormal, YA | 214

The summer after graduation should have been the most exciting time of Mercy’s life.

Instead on the way to an exciting overseas trip, she barely survives an accident that kills the rest of her family. As soon as she’s released from the hospital, a creepy hooded figure with black skinny jeans begins to chase her.

At home, Mercy experiences other ghostly encounters. Kit, her neighbor who happens to run a paranormal blog, thinks that her brush with death has made her more sensitive to life on the other side. She discovers what the hooded figure is hiding and decides to try and stop him regardless of the danger.

Book Review: ★

*A thanks to Story Cartel for providing this book in exchange for an honest review*

With the good reviews and the interesting synopsis I had started this book with an open mind expecting to be shocked, thrilled and perhaps a little bit scared to be reading this in the middle of the night. I was none of the above. It started out well enough. The story began with decent writing and a good introduction to the character. Mercy wakes up from an accident in which the rest of her family has perished and leaves to go attend the service and funeral, only to be chased away by ghosts. Interesting enough for a start I have to admit. But that’s when things started to go very downhill.

Once we meet Kit, her new neighbor who just happens to be a cute guy, I started to realize that the characters are flat and one dimensional. The beginning of the book started without much dialogue and the descriptions were okay. But when Kit arrives then the book turns into just dialogue. There is barely any descriptions when the two are together and if there is, it’s minimal and unimportant at best. The dialogue was boring and I had a hard time telling who was talking because Kit and Mercy sounded exactly the same.

!!!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!! SUPER SPOILERY AS IN I REVEAL EVERYTHING !!!!

The plot could have been good but it wasn’t. The big plot issue is that her father’s ghost has been captured by the other ghost that had been chasing her at the beginning (who she so uniquely has named Creepy). It’s a decent enough plot idea but it wasn’t executed well at all. The way Mercy finds out is through a memory/dream in which she remembers seeing her father’s ghost being taken away. Her reaction wasn’t as freaked out as I would think most people would be. There isn’t any ‘well maybe it was just a dream’ or anything like that. It was just ‘OH THIS DEFINITELY HAPPENED AND NOW I HAVE TO SAVE HIM!’. So then Mercy and Kit go on a mission to save her father. This leads to another 80 pages or so in which they spend 30 of it actually doing something and the other 50 is Mercy falling for this guy. Who then happens to be gay. But instead of moving on with the ‘must save dad’ idea, she convinces herself that he’s delusional about his sexuality and how can she get him to fall for her. Priorities, right?

The big showdown at the end wasn’t impressive. It didn’t leave me quacking in my boots, it wasn’t action packed and it wasn’t thrilling. It was just a lot of ‘Give me my dad back!’ (because demanding things from the bad guys without any leverage totally works). The big reveal at the end just pissed me off really. (Turns out she was dead the entire time). Mostly because it just didn’t make any sense when it came to ghost lore. There wasn’t any instances of missing time/time skipping and she could interact with anything around her – people and objects. I mean have you heard of a ghost taking a shower and changing clothes???? (oh and of course the gay guy falls in love with her) I wish I could say there was a redeeming factor to this book but for me there wasn’t one at all. I feel cheated and lied to and really pissed off about it. I’m sorry if I offend anyone with this review, but it’s my honest opinion. I didn’t like this book one bit.

You can check on goodreads for good reviews or read the book for yourself and see what you think of it if you like.